To Set the World on Fire
by trancepanda
Summary: The war with Robotnik continues to drag on and the Resistance is desperate for it to come to an end. They unwittingly make a deal with the devil. Guerrilla warfare escalates to full scale battles. Cities and comrades fall. In the midst of all this, Manic falls in love. Unfortunately he fell in love with one of the devil's little helpers.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own Nothing**

**To Set the World on Fire**

**Chapter One**

* * *

"Are you sure this is the place sis? 'Cause I'm not seeing anything." Manic said, studying the hillside in front of him through his binoculars. According to Cyrus' intel Robotnik had a SWATbot factory in these hills, roughly a kilometer north of where they stood currently but all Manic saw was an unbroken sea of rolling green grass.

"Of course it's there," Sonia said impatiently. She pulled the binoculars from Manic's unresisting hands and brought the device up to her eyes. After a minute she pointed with one hand and gave Manic the binoculars back. "It's right there. You can see a slight color change in the grass. The stuff over the factory door is more pastel than the real grass." She sniffed, as if the color had personally insulted her, "it's atrocious."

Manic looked at the grass Sonia was pointing out and, after several moments of scrutiny, shrugged. He couldn't see any difference personally but he bowed to Sonia's superior knowledge on colors.

"Whatever sis, I just hope Sonic gets back soon so we can get this show on the road."

A powerful gust of wind rocked Manic back on his heels and then Sonic was there, signature grin stretching across his mouth.

"Somebody say my name?" he asked playfully.

"Great timing Sonic, how'd the perimeter sweep go?" Sonia asked, swinging her backpack up from the ground and settling it on her shoulders.

The smile disappeared from Sonic's face and he crossed his arms thoughtfully, "I'm getting really weird vibes from this place, sibs. I mean, there were no SWATbots out there, not even the wimpy sentry models. Normally Robuttnik has at least one or two."

"Well Cyrus said it's supposed to be a secret factory, right bro?" Manic pulled his own backpack on, careful not to jostle the plastic explosives inside and then slid his hoverboard under his arm. He held out Sonic's pack and the blue blur took it and put it on. "Having SWATbots just chillin' outside kinda ruins the whole secret thing, ya know?"

Sonic shrugged dismissively and grabbed their arms, "You guys clear on the plan?"

Sonia sighed irritably, "Yes Sonic we're clear on the plan. Manic handles Control, I get Production, and you get Assembly. We get it. After all we've only gone over it about a thousand times."

"Well alright," Sonic said brightly, not bothered by Sonia's snappy tone," then it's juice and jam time."

Manic smiled at that. Sonic had stopped saying that particular catchphrase of his when they were around 14 (he claimed that he had realized how uncool it was but Manic had always suspected that the girl he had been crushing on at the time had laughed at him for using it) but he still broke it out for special occasions. They took off so fast that Manic felt the air being forced from his chest. For several seconds the entire world was a blur of green and blue, the deafening roar of the wind, and the feeling of pressure pushing his eyes back into his skull. Then they were at the base of the hill, coming to a stop as abruptly as they had started.

Sonia bent down and stared intently at the grass, muttering to herself, "According to Cyrus' schematics it should be…right….here" she finished triumphantly, prying up a square of grass to reveal a control panel. Manic nearly laughed. He recognized this panel's model. It was ancient! Ferrel had taught him to hack on one of these; it would be a piece of cake!

"Step aside sibs," he said, adjusting his gloves, "This is gonna be too easy."

Less than five minutes later the previously amber display screen flashed green. With a near silent whirr of gears and motors a section of the hill in front of them began to slide down into the ground. The room behind the false hill was made of dark grey metal and was completely bare with only three large hallways branching deeper into the factory. The cloying smell of oil, grease, stale air, and superheated metal hit the hedgehogs like a solid wall. Sonic gagged, Sonia wrinkled her nose in distaste, and Manic grimaced as his throat seemed to clench shut. It was one of those smells that was strong enough that you could taste it on the back of your tongue and the green hedgehog found himself spitting repeatedly in a attempt to cleanse his mouth of it.

"Alright, communicators on," Sonic said as they stepped inside. He pulled a small earpiece from the side-pocket of his pack, flipped it on, and placed it in his ear. The other two hedgehogs followed suit. "Testing, testing, can you guys hear me?"

"Yes Sonic."

"No problems on my end dude."

"Good. Then let's get this show on the road. I'm dying for a chili dog and the sooner we finish up the sooner I can get one."

He took off down the hallway to the left and Sonia headed down the hallway to the right without preamble, leaving Manic to take the middle. The green hedgehog stepped onto his hoverboard and pressed down on the accelerator pad. He rocketed down the long hallway, keeping tense and alert in case he ran into SWATbots. Several uneventful minutes passed and Manic could see a set of metal doors at the end of the hall. His communicator crackled in his ear.

Sonic's voice came out tinny and distorted but still understandable, "Hey Manic, you run into any SWATbots yet?"

"No dude, have you?" He hoped off his hoverboard as he reached the doors. He entered an override code into the key pad and smiled as the doors slid open, revealing a large room filled to the brim with computer monitors and CPUs. Oddly enough there was a battered coffee maker resting on the floor in the far corner.

"Not a single one. It's weirding me out. There aren't even any in Assembly, it's all blasters."

"Bazaar man. Grab one and get up here then. I'll see what I can get from the computers."

"Ten-four bro."

"Oh, and don't forget Sonia." Manic said absentmindedly. He set the backpack on the ground and dropped into the chair in front of what appeared to be the main computer. It was the biggest one there, at any rate. The first couple of passwords that he tried didn't work, which was odd considering that Robotnik was rather fond of reusing the same three of four variations of 'die Sonic die' for everything. After one last try (iKillMeddlingHedgehogs) Manic resigned himself to some good old fashion hacking, which he admitted, would be a nice change of pace. He may be the most laid back and placid of his siblings but even he got bored if things got too easy.

Getting into the computer took longer than he had anticipated. Whatever was on it must be really important if the sheer number of firewalls and booby traps in the code were anything to go by. Three times Manic had to circumvent a program that, once triggered, would have wiped the computer's hard drive completely clean. When he was sure that he was in and that there were no programs or traps left to avoid he let out a whoop of joy and stood up to do a victory dance. He was halfway through said dance when he noticed his siblings, who looked like they were holding back laughter with difficulty. He must have been so absorbed with his task that he hadn't noticed them enter.

"Hey guys," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and chuckled, "I got in."

"We kinda figured." Sonic said, cuffing Manic playfully on the shoulder as he joined him in front of the monitor.

"So what's on it?" Sonia asked, gesturing to the computer from her position at Manic's other side.

"Let's find out." Manic said, plopping back down into the chair. He began to dig through the computer's files, looking for any messages or commands that could explain why the automated factory was producing blasters instead of 'bots. There wasn't much there, other than the programming that had switched the factory over to blaster manufacturing several months ago. Even that wasn't particularly helpful beyond proving that what was happening wasn't some kind of strange malfunction.

After nearly a half-hour of digging he finally found an email that, after being decrypted, was slightly helpful.

It read:

_Prower, _

_ Mephiles wants this place up and running at 100% in a month. I don't need to remind you what will happen if you disappoint._

_ N._

"Mephiles," Manic said thoughtfully, "don't suppose either of you know who he is 'cause I'm drawing a blank."

"It does sound familiar," Sonia said slowly, "I think I heard Lady Windermere mention him once while she was having tea with a friend. They talked about him in past tense though."

"Well I've never heard of him. Manic, think you can get into Robuttnik's database and try to find this guy?"

"No problem dude."

Manic went to work. Getting into Robotnik's database was the easy part. It was after that where it began to get difficult. All of the files regarding anything that had happened during the reign of Queen Aleena were heavily protected.

After a moment Sonic spoke up again, "Any idea who this Prower person is?" he directed this question mostly at Sonia because he knew that Manic would be too far into his own zone to hear him let alone answer. Plus Sonia had already recognized one name in the message so it was possible that she would recognize the other.

Sonia shook her head apologetically, "No I don't. I feel bad for them though, whoever they are. It sounds like they're being threatened with something pretty bad."

They lapsed into silence for several minutes.

"Alright I'm in." Manic leaned close to the screen and scrutinized it intensely, "Huge chunks of it have been deleted though. Let's see…Mephiles, last name redacted. That's unhelpful. There's no birthday but it says he was the eldest son of a respected aristocratic family. The family name has also been redacted but that's probably how your old lady knew him Sonia. Uh…huge blank spot here… He was the head of War Ministry's R&D Department during the Great War. Then there's another huge blank space after something called the _Iblis_ _Project._ Wonder what that was, Blubberbolts has done a pretty good job deleting any info about it…He died during the coup." The green hedgehog leaned even closer. The tips of his shaggy quills brushed against the monitor and crackled slightly as they came in contact with the static-y film over the screen. "Him and his personal assistant were gunned down by 'bots when they were trying to bring the Palace's automated defenses back online."

"I don't get it." Sonic said after a moment, scratching his head, "so does this mean that the message is super old or what?"

"The message is only a couple months old and there's not nearly enough dust for this place to have been empty since the coup." Manic said without looking away from the screen. His chest felt tight. This man, Mephiles last-name-redacted, had died trying to protect the Palace. Manic knew it probably shouldn't get to him as much as it did but…he had died trying to save them and their mom. He could have fled, or bargained with Robotnik like the aristocrats had or-

"Manic? Manic, buddy, you okay?" Sonic's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Wha? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." He tried to smile reassuringly but couldn't really pull it off.

"Someone's using his name." Sonia said. She sounded rather choked too; perhaps she had had some of the same thoughts that Manic had. "Someone's out there threatening people and producing guns and doing Chaos knows what else using a dead man's name. A _noble _dead man's name…it's monstrous."

Minutes passed in silence as they absorbed this information.

"Come on guys, let's get out of here." Sonic said finally, sounding uncharacteristically grave. "We still have to finish what we came here for."

The other two siblings nodded and, after retrieving the detonator from Manic's pack, left.

* * *

The factory exploded beautifully.

* * *

**A/N: and that's the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed it. Anyway, as you may have noticed from previous experience, I am a bit of a review whore so leave a review, yeah?**

**Thanks for reading,**

**trancepanda**

**P.S. I'm looking for a beta reader that wouldn't mind a ridiculously erratic schedule. If you're interested shoot me a P.M.**


	2. Chapter 2

**To Set the World on Fire**

**Chapter Two**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Manic heaved the last amp into the back of the van with a grunt and promptly flopped down next to it, legs dangling over the rear bumper.

"Ugh," he stretched his arms over his head and groaned, "When was the last time we took a vacation sibs?"

"That time we went to the beach and then Robotnik tried to steal the Master Emerald." Sonia said without looking up from filing her nails.

"But that was years ago!"

"'ell 'e haven't 'ad 'lot of free 'ime—"

"Gods Sonic that's disgusting! Swallow your food before you talk."

Sonic swallowed and grinned sheepishly, "Sorry Sonia. Anyway we haven't really had a lot of free time between fighting 'buttnik and our gigs and all. "

"You know, I've been thinking about our gigs," Manic rolled over on his stomach and propped his chin on his hands, "Sonic why is it that your amulet can give you an awesome guitar but not an amp? 'Cause those amps are heavy man and somehow I always end up putting them away."

Sonic slouched in his chair and fingered his amulet, looking thoughtful, "I've never really thought about it bro. Kinda weird that a magic guitar needs an amp if ya' think about it. Eh," he shrugged. His thoughtful look fell away and his usual bright expression took its place, "and, ya' know Manic, the only reason you end up loading the van is because you're paranoid that me and Sonia will scratch your precious _baby_."

"There's a six inch scratch below the passenger side door mirror that says it's not paranoia."

"Oh come on, that was SWATbots."

"SWATbots leave blaster burns, quills leave scratch marks."

"Your accusations hurt me _here_ Manic." Sonic placed a hand over his heart and pulled a pained expression.

"That's just from the chili dogs Sonic." Sonia said dryly.

"Great now both of you are ganging up on me. Not cool. Not cool." He mock pouted but brightened almost instantly as he saw Cyrus approaching. "Cyrus, buddy, you'll back me up, right?"

"Nope." The lion leaned up against the side of the van and played with the sleeves of his jumpsuit. "Great show tonight guys. Was that last song a new one? Don't think I've ever heard it before."

"Yup, we actually just put the finishing touches on it last night. Sounds good right?"

"Yeah, way past cool." Cyrus glanced around conspiratorially and, when he had confirmed that they were alone, leaned forward. "The higher-ups have got a new mission for you guys."

The playful and relaxed air vanished instantly. Sonia looked away from her nails, interest peaked. Sonic rose from his chair and practically bounded to join the rest of them at the back of the van. Manic rolled onto his back so that he stare up at Cyrus.

"What is it?" Sonic asked, voice firm and businesslike.

"We finally found an arms dealer that can supply us with enough guns to take the fight to Robotnik. We still need someone to go negotiate with him though. Since you guys are famous and Sonia was raised by aristocrats we figured you could do it."

"Negotiate with an arms dealer? That sounds like something out of an action movie. Cool, where do we gotta go?"

"There's a town to the far West, at the foot of the mountains that separate us from Robotnik's wastelands, called Kingsfall-."

Sonia snorted, "That's ironic."

"What do you mean?"

"The Magnus Conspiracy."

Manic scratched his head, looking confused, "that's…not really helpful sis."

Sonia rolled her eyes, "well, Kingsfall got its name because years and years ago a group of nobles and aristocrats met there and hatched a plot to try to overthrow the royal family. The assassin managed to kill our great-grandfather, King Daniel, but didn't manage to get the rest of the royal family…" she trailed off and then shrugged.

"Uh…okay, thanks for the fun fact Sonia," Cyrus continued, "Anyways, there's a tavern in Kingsfall called the_ Sun God_. Tell the bartender 'history is in the making' and ask to speak to the owner. Here," he pulled a folded scrap of paper from an inside pocket and pushed in into Sonia's hand, "is the number for the most Mobiums we can spare." He opened his mouth to say more but a beeping from his wrist caused him to stop abruptly. He glanced down at his watch and cursed," Gotta run guys, the new city wide curfew starts in ten minutes. I gotta get back to the safe house. Good luck."

* * *

XxX

* * *

Kingsfall was a maze of cramped, twisted cobblestone streets resting in the shadow of mountains. Smog from the dumpsites in Robotnik's wasteland had drifted over these mountains and settled down on the town like a blanket so thick that even at high noon it was never any brighter than dusk. Tall and crooked buildings loomed over the streets in an unconscious imitation of the mountains.

Manic liked it.

It was dark, smelly, and cramped just like the sewers he had spent his childhood in.

"This is _so_ gross. Do you have any idea how long it'll take to get this smell out of my hair?"

Sonia didn't.

"Oh come on sis, it's not so bad." Sonic ran a hand down the grimy alley wall, "it's all dark and spooky. It kinda makes me feel artsy." He absently began to hum.

"You're outvoted sis, two-to-one, this place is awesome."

Sonia sniffed, "this place isn't 'awesome' just because you two have no class."

"That hurts Sonia." Manic said in mock seriousness.

"I'm sure." Sonia rolled her eyes, "we should start looking for the _Sun God _ knows how long it'll take to find."

Sonic chuckled, "I doubt it'll take too long. Anyone who can live in a place like this must have to get smashed at least once a day. We'll just follow the people."

"Bro, I don't think that's gonna work." Manic said slowly.

"Trust me sibs, this'll work. It'll take an hour, two tops."

Sonic's plan worked…eventually. It took four hours longer than the Blue Blur had promised though. By the time they found the tavern night had fallen and the city had gotten even darker. The gas lamps, which looked like they had seen better days, flickered on, struggling (and for the most part failing) to illuminate the streets. The _Sun God_ was a derelict building, more coated in dirt and grime than any building they had seen so far. The walls and door were black with it and the windows were opaque.

Sonia physically cringed when she pushed open the heavy door.

The inside of the bar was cleaner than the outside, but not by much. The air smelled like sweat, alcohol, and smoke. Rough-looking Mobians sat clustered around small circular tables. An oil lamp sat in the middle of each table, casting small circles of yellow light. There was a bar along the far wall and, behind it; a purple furred weasel was serving drinks. The weasel cocked his hat back on his head and fixed the triplets with a glare as they approached.

"Whaddaya want?" he grunted.

"Don't suppose this place serves chili dogs," Sonic muttered.

The bartender scowled. "This is a bar, not a damn kiddy restaurant. Buy a drink or piss off."

"Uh," Manic stepped forward, "History is in the making?" he shifted uncomfortably when the bartender didn't react. "Ringing any bells dude?"

After another silent moment the bartender spoke up, voice suddenly crisp and businesslike. "There's a trap door beneath the whisky barrel in the storeroom. Go down the trap door and tell the doorman _'sic simper tyrannis'. _Be sure ya' don't get it wrong or he'll take ya' head off."

"_Sic simper _wha-?"

A loud crash and the sound of breaking glass cut Manic off mid-question. They whipped around, looking for the source of the disturbance. A small green duck, who had apparently been waiting tables, had dropped a tray of glasses and was now frantically trying to pick up the fragments. Several Mobians began to laugh; one threw an empty tumbler at the duck. It missed his head by inches and shattered against the grimy floor.

The bartender slammed his hands down on the countertop. "I told you to be careful dammit!" he yelled, "Another slip like that and I'll take it from your god-damned hide!".

"Uh dude?" Manic took a tentative step forward and tried to recapture the weasel's attention, "Can you tell me that password again?"

The bartender continued to yell at the duck. Manic took another step forward and Sonia grabbed his wrist.

"I remember it Manic." She said softly, "Let's go. I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

She tried to pull him away. Manic was tempted to stay and take the bartender's attentions away from the duck but, after an uncomfortably persuasive tug, he relented.

"So what's with that password sis?" Sonic asked as they headed back to the storeroom, "What did it mean?"

"It's an old language that the aristocrats used to use. _Sic Semper Tyrannis, _it means 'thus, always, to tyrants'. It's what the assassin said after he stabbed King Daniel in the heart."

Manic whistled, impressed, "Jeez sis, where do you learn this stuff?"

"Lady Windermere was very fond of history."

The whisky barrel over the trap door was incredibly heavy and it took all three of the hedgehogs to move it. Manic suspected that it had been filled with something other than booze, concrete or iron most likely.

The trapdoor was a clean brown square on the black floor with an iron ring for a handle. It pulled up easily enough to reveal stone stairs that led down into a passage of packed dirt. There was a heavy iron door at the far end of the passage. It was guarded by a incredibly large polar bear. Manic suddenly understood what the bartender meant when he said that the door guard would take his head off.

'_Take my head off with his bare hands, I bet.'_ Manic shivered slightly. It seemed to be ten degrees colder down here. Maybe it was just him.

The door guard tensed as they drew closer, subtly dropping into a ready stance.

"_Sic simper tyrannis."_ Sonia said firmly.

The guard relaxed marginally, and knocked three times on the door. It opened with the scream of un-oiled hinges. The hedgehog triplets entered slowly, ready for anything. A duck with an eye patch, who looked like an older version of the boy from upstairs, closed the door behind them and then took up a place in the far corner of the room, one hand resting lightly on the blaster hanging from his waist.

A plain metal table sat in the middle of the otherwise bare room. There were four chairs around it, three on side closest to them and one on the far side. This far chair was occupied by an incredibly pale hedgehog with luminous silver eyes. He rose as the hedgehogs entered, adjusted the collar of his dress shirt, straightened his black vest and matching tie, and then held out his arms in welcome.

"Greetings," his voice was cold and smooth, like ice, "it is always a pleasure to entertain new customers." He gestured to the chairs, "May I ask your names? I find negotiations go better when they are more…personable."

"It is polite to introduce yourself first," Sonia said carefully. The pale hedgehog chuckled and gestured again for them to sit.

They did so reluctantly.

"Of course you're right my dear." He took a seat, still chuckling pleasantly, and removed an elegant cigarette case from an inner pocket. He removed an expertly rolled handmade cigarette, placed it between his lips, and lit it. "I am the last of my family, the last of my blood as it were, so I suppose you may call me by my surname of Albens,"

Sonia's eyes narrowed, "The Albens were traitors to the crown and members of the Magnus Conspiracy's inner circle. I don't trust that name."

Something Manic didn't like flickered in Albens' eyes. It was gone before he could identify it.

"Ah, someone who knows their history," Albens blew a jet of smoke out his nose and frowned slightly. "A loyalist no less. How quaint. Very well, if you do not trust my family name then, in the interest of our mutual benefit, you may use my given one. I am Nazo. So far I cannot say that it's a pleasure to meet you."

* * *

**A/N: BOOM! Chapter Two!**

**hope you enjoyed.**

**Reviews would be super killer,**

**trancepanda**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**To Set the World on Fire.**

**Chapter 3.**

* * *

Negotiations didn't go as well as the higher-ups had probably hoped.

Sonia may have been taught how to negotiate by Lady Windermere but it quickly became apparent that she had no real-life experience with it. This wasn't helped by the fact that Nazo had most likely spent his entire life doing things like this.

Manic didn't like Nazo although, if he was asked, he wouldn't be able to articulate why. There was nothing outwardly malicious about him, no feeling of spine-tingling unease that Manic usually got around people who had less-than-pure intentions, but there was _something._ Condescension was probably the word that came closest to describing it. It was as if the man knew that he wouldn't have to pull out all the stops to deal with them and was thoroughly amused by it.

But despite his unease Manic had to (reluctantly) admit that Nazo was very good at what he did. The pale hedgehog was business minded and analytic. He poked and prodded for any weaknesses that he could find and exploited them if he could. He also seemed to subtly go out of his way to unsettle Sonia. This was a tactic that Manic recognized; Ferrel had taught it to him when he was young.

Keep your mark off-guard and wrong-footed, it made them easier to rob blind.

It was nearly artistic and Manic would have enjoyed watching Nazo work if he hadn't been working on his sister.

After covering the amount of weapons they needed and the amount of money they had to spend (even Manic knew that telling someone how much money you had up front was bad form, but they had agreed to let Sonia do all the talking so he held his tongue) they got down to discussing which weapons would be best. Sonia flinched when Nazo described, in depth, the effects a BG312 disruptor rifle on the average Mobian (the words 'disintegration' and 'mutilate' were used liberally) and he pounced on that discomfort like a predator. After that each weapon he offered to sell them caused damage even more gruesome than the last. Sonia looked physically ill after he offered to give them a discounted price on several HK100 plasma rifles which could, when turned to their full power output, liquidize a Mobian at fifty paces.

Eventually they settled on a THW ion rifle. The THW was a sleek, chrome colored rifle with a large cylindrical barrel. It was designed to be devastating to machines, to punch through energy shields and armor plating with ease, and yet be mostly harmless to organics. Nazo assured them that the only way they could kill another Mobian with one was if they bashed their head in with the rifle's stock.

That comment, and the cheerful grin that accompanied it, brought the discussion to a quick end.

* * *

XxXx

* * *

Miles "Tails" Prower pulled his head out from the chest cavity of the robot he was working on as the door to his workshop—

_(Prison_, the bitter thought drifted across the forefront of his mind before he could stop it.)

- opened. He scowled as Nazo walked in, loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top button of his shirt.

"What do you want?" he asked shortly. It was strange; he was rarely short with anyone. In fact Tails often had a hard time even having a bad thought about someone. But it seemed like ever since he became an employee—

(_slave)_

-to the Albens he had had nothing but bad thoughts. He did his best to ignore them but he knew that they had become like an infected wound in his chest, slowly accumulating and eager to be freed.

"I merely came by to see how you were progressing." Nazo removed his cigarette case, hesitated, (perhaps remembering that Tails abhorred the smell of cigarette smoke) and then slid it back into his vest. "And what, pray tell, did I do to earn your animosity?"

"Oh I don't know," Tails said sarcastically (sarcasm was also unusual for him), "maybe the fact you're holding my friends hostage has something to do with it."

There was a moment where Tails could see the briefest flash of discomfort in the silver eyes, the slightest downturn at the corners of his lips, and then Nazo's cool aristocratic mask slipped back on.

"I do not like it anymore than you do. I find it distasteful. I am, after all, a business man not some common thug. But I have no choice."

"Oh don't give me that." His temper peaked and Tails found words spilling from his mouth without his consent. He knew that he should stop talking while he was ahead. He knew pushing Nazo while in his current position could only end badly but he couldn't stop himself. The infected wound in his chest had opened and was intent on being drained. "They're your men! They're your guns! You were in charge and then that guy comes back from across the mountain and you start bowing to his every whim! Kowtowing like your some kind of sla—"

"I HAVE NO CHOICE!" Nazo slammed his hands down onto one of the workbenches, startling Tails into silence. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were positively glowing with rage. "I have no choice. My father promised my family's servitude to him. He is my liege lord, despite how little I care for it." Nazo ran a hand down his face and began to pace, "I have cast aside many of my family's traditions: The ridiculous taxation of Kingsfall's citizens, the infernal rites and sacrifices to Insidiae, the constant plotting to stamp out Queen Aleena's bloodline but this I cannot forsake. It would be the height of dishonor. Any of the Noble families that are still sympathetic to the old cause would abandon me in an instant. I would be reduced to nothing in a mere moment. I will not, no, I _cannot _allow my family name to fall into the dirt. I will die first."

He pinched the skin between his eyes and took a deep, calming breath.

"Now, back to the topic at hand; how much progress have you made?"

Tails wiped his grease smeared gloves off on the rag hanging from his tool belt and stepped over to a nearby workbench that was laden with blueprints and hand-written notes.

"Not as much as I had hoped. The ART robot was incredibly advanced and making one, even a simplified one, without Robotnik's blueprints and specialized equipment is, well…tough. I've almost finished with the prototype's body but I'm struggling with the CPU. Making it learn and adapt would be easy enough but he wants me to eliminate its ability to rebel, which essentially means eliminating its free will. It's tricky to program but I'll get it eventually, hopefully before the deadline."

Nazo nodded, and began to roll up the sleeves of his shirt, "What can I help with?"

"Wh-what?" Tails stuttered, surprised. "Why would you help?"

"I would rather not have to carry out the threat that my…" his mouth twisted in a moue of distaste, _"lord_ made should you fail to meet the deadline. Therefore, I will help you meet it. Now, what can I do to help?"

"Well, uh, I've been working on the energy shields. They've been shorting out when the 'bot morphs. Could you try to find a solution for that while I start working on the CPU again?"

Nazo nodded and went to work.

* * *

XxXx

* * *

"Do you have your orders?"

"Yes."

"Good."

* * *

XxXx

* * *

"I don't trust him." Sonia said firmly.

"Why not sis?" Sonic asked, propping himself up on one elbow so that he could look at Sonia without getting out of his bunk, "I mean the guy was kinda slimy but I don't think he's gonna screw us over or anything."

"It's not that it's…" she bit her lip as she tried to think of the words, "I don't think he's going to try and double cross us but…" she shook her head uncertainly, "I don't know, maybe it's just me."

"Don't worry Sonia, it's not just you. I got weird vibes from the guy too." Manic said. He tapped his drumsticks in a fast, syncopated rhythm on the roof of his bunk.

Sonic shrugged, "So the guy's pretty creepy, I'll give you that. I think you guys are getting worked up over nothing though. I mean, give me one reason you don't trust him besides some shady vibe you got."

"I've heard stories about his family. Bad stories."

"Oh yeah?" Sonia asked mildly. His expression was skeptical. "Tell me one."

Sonia leaned forward conspiratorially. "Lady Windermere and her friends used to talk about the old scandals over tea and it seems like the Albens were nothing but scandals. Did you know that every Lady of the house allegedly died in childbirth?"

"Uh, that's more sad than suspicious sis. They probably just had, like, hemophila or hemophilia or whatever it's called. I've heard that it can run in families."

Sonia nodded "That's what I said at first. But," her voice dropped as if she was imparting a great secret, "Lady Windermere's grandmother Caroline was a midwife for a Lady Albens. She said that the birth went perfectly. No complications whatsoever. Lady Albens had twins and they were all in perfect health. She was resting peacefully when Caroline left for the night and then the next morning she got the news that Lady Albens and one of the twins had died of 'complications'."

Sonic still looked skeptical, "So what do you think happened to them? I mean, if you don't think they died of complications."

"There are some dark gods that take living sacrifices." Sonia imparted gravely.

"Come on sis, dark gods, really? That's ridiculous."

"It's not ridiculous Sonic. They found shrines in the basement when they searched their estate."

"So they were religious, that doesn't mean they were baby sacrificers."

"But—"

Manic sighed and promptly tuned out. He could tell that his siblings were gearing up towards another one of their 'discussions' (Sonia refused to admit that they were arguments, despite the fact they could get rather heated and go on for hours). He climbed off his bunk, tucked his drumsticks back into his fanny pack, and pushed open the van's door.

"I'm going out." he called over his shoulder. He wasn't sure why he bothered, seeing as neither Sonic nor Sonia took any notice.

He began to walk, and before he knew it his feet had carried him back to the _Sun God_. After a moment of hesitation he headed inside to get a drink. Manic didn't usually drink but he was in a strange, depressing town, his siblings were 'discussing', and he had months of stress built up from a schedule of near non-stop gigs and Resistance missions.

So screw it. He wanted a drink. Or two. Possibly three.

The purple weasel behind the bar had been replaced by a red-furred fox girl who was glaring at everything as if the world itself had slighted her.

Manic made his way up to the counter, dug a crumpled ten Mobium note from his pocket, and placed it down on the slightly sticky surface of the bar. "Double whiskey please."

The girl grunted, wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing, and pulled a tumbler out from under the bar. She slammed it down and turned to grab a dusty brown bottle from the shelf behind her. She uncorked it but before she could pour the drink a hand came to rest over the mouth of Manic's glass. Manic jumped slightly, surprised. He hadn't heard anyone come up behind him.

"Come on Fiona, we both know that's swill. Give him the good stuff. And get me one too." The man said. His voice was a teasing, scratchy tenor.

Fiona scowled and her glare increased, "Oh. You're back." she said shortly. She re-corked the bottle, put it back on the shelf, and grabbed another. She brought up another tumbler from beneath the bar and slammed it down with vigor. The hand disappeared from Manic's drink and Fiona carelessly filled both glasses up to the rim.

Manic twisted his head to look at the voice's owner. A green furred hedgehog, who looked to be a year or two older than Manic, was using his crossed arms to support himself as he leaned against the bar. An unlit cigarette dangled from the corner of his mouth and Manic could see the strap for a shoulder holster disappearing into his leather jacket.

"I'm gone for months and when I finally get back all I get is _'Oh'_? The hedgehog placed a hand over his heart mockingly, "that hurts babe, it really does."

"Drop dead Scourge." Fiona snapped. She stormed off to the other end of the bar and began to polish a glass with a rag she took from a pocket of her apron.

"Love you too ba-!" Scourge cursed as the glass Fiona was polishing flew within inches of his head. "Shit woman! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"Is it that obvious?"

Manic laughed.

Scourge turned to look at him. "I saw you sitting over here and decided to give you some company." He pressed a glass into Manic's hand and then picked up his own. "After all, no one should have to drink alone."

"Oh, uh, thanks dude. I'm Manic by the way."

"I'm Scourge. Cheers."

They toasted together and drank.

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 3. Hope you all enjoyed. **

**Reviews are super welcome.**

**Later,**

**trancepanda**

P.S. happy holidays.


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